It’s not an easy question to answer, but one that definitely stands out was the year I got the Star Wars Imperial Walker – also known as an AT-AT – originally seen in The Empire Strikes Back. Ultimately, the toy proved to be not very portable or really even all that fun to play with, but the moment of awe I experienced when I first got it was fantastic.

Never has my Want-Want-Want tag been applied with such longing! This is the toy that has eluded me my whole life. Over my childhood, I inherited hundreds of original Star Wars toys from my older cousins – I shudder to think of what they’d be worth now, years after my mother sold them all off for a pittance at a garage sale – but this snow walker was not one of them. Possibly its position as Most Expensive Star Wars Toy is what kept it from us. Frustrating, as it’s also known in my circle of friends as The Ultimate Star Wars Toy. Ultimate to the point of me questioning the writer’s complaint that it was “not very portable” (and ignoring “or really even all that fun to play with” – TUH!) because I distinctly remember this being the toy that decided where Star Wars playmates would meet; If you had an AT-AT, you were never lonely. Speaking of which, Mike, can I come over and play?